How do I calculate net carbs?

To figure out how to calculate net carbs, let’s take a look at a simple U.S. nutrition label:

The two values (and only two values) that you will be focusing on to calculate the net carb content of foods are “Total Carbohydrate” and “Dietary Fiber.” Total sugars and added sugars don’t matter as much because they don’t give you all the info you need to find the net carbs.

To find the net carb content of any food item, you will subtract the number of grams of “Dietary Fiber” from the number of grams of “Total Carbohydrate.”

To put this in another way:

Total Carbs – Fiber = Net Carbs

For this particular food label, you would calculate net carbs with this simple equation:

Keep in mind that this indicates the number of net carbs per serving (which is 2/3 cup or 55 grams in this case).

If you need help tracking your net carbs throughout the day, try using a macro tracking app like MyFitnessPal or Cronometer instead. You can find out how to use these apps to track your carbs and net carbs on keto by using this free guide.

(Note: If you live in Europe, Australia, or Oceania, the carb content on the label reflects the net carbs in a serving of that food, so you will not have to subtract fiber from that number because it already has been done.)